Mahiru!

After that fight, Rito could tell that Mahiru was putting on a brave front while laughing and smiling like that, so he decided to walk her back.

Rito was gracious enough to agree to Mahiru's request to take him along when she asked to go grocery shopping and return to her apartment because she was so shaken by everything that had happened.

'It seemed that she is still bothered and it will be unwise to let her go alone back to her apartment, as she did not even have her parents around.'

Rito wondered internally as he turned to face Mahiru and considered how he could inquire of her about whether or not she was living alone given that Rito was aware of this since he had watched the anime, but he did not want to mislead her either.

"Shiina-san, at a time like that, you should try to call friends or parents. Given that police take their time a lot while asking what is happening, and family and friends tend to react faster if they are usually close by,"

Rito's advice was extremely sound at the time, but Mahiru turned to look at him because he was unaware that she was currently without any friends on whom she could rely, as well as parents who were not present.

"I do not have friends or parents around who would turn to save me."

Rito felt bad for bringing up such a sensitive subject at the time as Shiina spoke in a low voice and her eyes contained hints of loneliness and emptiness.

"Give me your phone!" Rito extended his hand, while Mahiru frowned a little as she looked at Rito's serious face as he extended his hand and was looking at her directly.

"I will save my number and not call it, so if you are in trouble, then you can call me, and in this manner, I will also not get your number."

Rito, who could see what was going on inside the girl's head, spoke to her directly, forcing her to remain silent for the time being while handing him the phone and giving him a preaching expression.

"This is it..." Mahiru sighed as she realized how untrustworthy she had become of people as a result of her surroundings, to even doubt the guy who had helped her twice, and Rito gave her cell phone back to her after saving his number.

"Sorry! To doubt you."

Rito heard what she was saying and simply grinned while shaking his head because, at the time, the Mahiru code of conduct was the best for ensuring one's own safety. Rito did not find her behavior to be bothersome in any way.

"No, that is the right code of action when it comes to handling someone you have just met twice."

Mahiru turned to look at Rito because of his mature speech, which made her think that Rito was acting in a genuine mature manner without any hidden agenda.

"Thank you for understanding me, Yuuki-kun." After speaking with Rito, Mahiru felt relieved and finally made the decision to address him by name. As they walked toward her apartment, which was still giving her some pause, their mutual trust grew.

Rito noticed her unease!

"Then, I will also call you by name, Shiina-san."

"There is a new arcade not far away from here; will you join me for some fun, given that it will definitely bring your spirit up?"

Rito did not want to give her the impression that he was trying to spend more time with her; instead, he only wanted to know how she was feeling, so he asked her directly without trying to disguise his motive.

"Eh-Nande Mata." Mahiru was startled by his call, but she could tell by Rito's nod and from the way he looked at her trembling hand that she was aware of it.

"I can't just ask to come to your apartment since you are living alone, and that might send the wrong message to your neighbor."

Rito scratched his head while telling her what he was thinking at the moment, and he also wanted to be of help to her condition.

"But I am a little hungry, since I did not have breakfast!" Shiina smiled while telling Rito.

"Then you can come and have breakfast with me; my home is not that far away from here, and I also have a little sister from your middle school."

Shiina wondered if Rito and her middle school classmate were related by chance after learning that Rito had a younger sister, but she shook her head and said that such coincidences could not possibly exist.

"That might be too much." In the end, Mahiru turned down Rito despite having earlier stated her intention to do so.

For some reason, she was still unable to follow through on her promise to visit them, and she ultimately chose not to join Rito.

"I hope next time we will meet in a normal manner."

Mahiru pouted slightly as Rito laughed, but after glaring at him and grinning at his dash, she felt that her anger had subsided significantly and was grateful to Rito for helping her out today.

"Friends, Huh!" Looking at his number, she tapped on it and dialed for a second before cutting it up again, with a small smile on her face.

Rito, who was rushing back home, heard his phone ring and discovered the call had been cut off once more.

Rito looked at the number and realized it was similar to Mahiru's personal number because he had remembered it from her ID, which had both her personal and parental numbers on it, on the day he first met her in the rain.

'This girl is trying to play with me or something, but this is also quite cute of her.' Rito considered this internally as a small smile formed on his lips. He then glanced at his hair, which he thought was getting incredibly long.

'I should go and have some haircut, but I don't have a good recommendation for haircut.' Rito received a 2 million yen initial fund from ASCII because his book was selling well and had made around 40K or so in just a few days.

This is not something a typical light novelist is given at his first publication, but because the number of books being sold is so high, he was given it with his father's blessing and connection.

'Let's take my baby princess on a shopping date then.' Rito thought as he rushed back home quickly and was welcomed by Mikan, who seemed a little worried and asked why he was being late, and Rito ended up telling her whole story.

"You mean Shiina Mahiru-san, right?" Mikan looked rather surprised by it, but she also felt that it was great that Rito was there to help her out.

"Yeah!" Rito was surprised, as he wondered if Mikan and Shiina had known each other or something, so he felt that today's action was well worth it.

"Hmm. Shiina-san is like a really good senior and a friend to me, but due to that bully act, she had been keeping a distance from me." Rito looked rather happy that his sister knew Mahiru and finally had a plan to drag her over for dinner tonight.

"So, Rito, I will not go shopping with you and will visit Mahiru-chan now!" Mikan finally made up her mind to visit Mahiru's house as soon as possible after hearing Rito, even if that meant forcibly breaking down the door.

Rito discovered that Mikan's appearance conveyed a variety of meanings and that, if necessary, his sister would undoubtedly barge into Mahiru's home today.

Given that Rito's previous appearance was undoubtedly the result of the idiotic haircut he had, despite having a genetically attractive mother, Rito found a good hairstyle shop and went inside to get a nice haircut.

Mikan was the best representation of Rito's good looks, but the previous owner was a fool and did not even try to have their hair cut properly.

Despite this, he had no desire to reflect on himself or make any efforts to better himself in order to catch Haruna's eye. He simply wanted to pursue a cute girl.

Rito just sighed after reflecting on himself and observing the cool reflection in the mirror, thinking that, if not for the system and those memories of his previous life, he would not have developed properly in this life as well.

"Wow! This is a nice look, right?" The hairdresser had a brown hairstyle and was a woman, but Rito could tell that she was actually a man who was dressed similarly but had very professional abilities.

"Yeah! Thank you." Rito twitched as he handed the cash to the clerk and left the store. He immediately ran back home to see if Mikan was there, or he could just take a shower and start preparing for lunch.

Rito took a shower and changed into some nice clothes because the house was empty and Mikan was not home. She then went back to the kitchen and planned to make something for Mikan and Mahiru in case she decided to join them.

"Hello. Rito! Shiina-san is also coming for lunch; I hope it is not much trouble for you."

Mikan asked Rito to make more because she could hear the food sizzling, which indicated that Rito was already preparing lunch.

Rito mused, saying that he already had a general idea of what was going to be served and that he had also prepared for Shiina-san.

"Err, so both of you really are siblings, Huh?"

Shiina, who was perched on the door, was in disbelief as she stared at Rito and Mikan. She had a general idea, but she had never imagined that her intuition would be realized in this way.

Rito, on the other hand, maintained that smirk despite the fact that he appeared somewhat different from the morning and that she could tell he had a haircut. She had never anticipated that he would look this different.

Mikan was also surprised at first, but later she thought that Rito's look was also nice and complimented him for it.

Shiina observed that Rito's cooking was also good, as he appeared to be quite experienced in making all the dishes in front of her as the three of them sat at the dining table and consumed their lunch.

"Hehe, I knew she would end up dragging you here." Mahiru was made fun of by Rito, who only made her pout and glare at him for being so rude, but the laughing and poking while she ate made her feel really good.

After all, this was the first time she had felt anything like this, and she discovered that it was something she had been looking for all along.

Mahiru was asked to spend the night with them, and when Mikan insisted on it, even Mahiru was powerless to refuse. Rito only saw Mahiru's eyes and could only shake his head in agreement because even he was powerless to assist at the time.

In the beginning, it was Mikan who kept bringing up the subject. Later, Rito joined them and Mahiru as they spoke about their school.

Rito made an effort to ensure that they did not bring up her family or their family during this time so that Mahiru would not feel uncomfortable.

At the conclusion of the topic, it was decided that Mahiru and Mikan's assistant would prepare tonight's dinner, and Rito would have the rest of the evening to finish writing the second chapter of the Lightnovel.

"Yuuki-kun." Rito was completely focused on his work when Mahiru arrived to ask him to go to his room.

Rito did not even notice her arrival and kept working, which made Mahiru smile because she thought she could tell why Rito was said to be a genius at this.

Along with that, a wicked thought entered her head. For a brief moment, it made her blush, but as a form of retaliation for not assisting Mikan, she drew closer and yelled, "Rito! It is time for dinner."

That almost caused him to yell in surprise as he turned to look at Mahiru, who was holding her smile and looking at him with a playful look on her face.

"That's a cheating man; why did you just scare me like that? Shiina-san." In response to his complaint, Mahiru made no attempt to respond; instead, she simply stuck her tongue out in irritation and giggled slightly as she left his room while speaking.

"Alright! I will make it up to you at dinner, given that all the dishes are your favorites, according to Mikan."

Rito sighed as he nodded at Mahiru, who appeared to be reverting to her former self because there was no sign of the unease that had been evident in her expression earlier.

Rito kept a small smile on his face as he dined with attractive women because he thought the setting was fantastic given that his earlier self had never even had the guts to approach someone of the other sex.

"I say! Yuuki-kun, you sure have a nice imagination."

When the subject of his book came up again, Mahiru had already read the majority of it and thought it was very interesting to read.

Mahiru had obtained a copy of the book from Mikan earlier.

She therefore believed that Rito's creativity had the potential to really intrigue people who had not yet developed a reading habit or joined a light novel circle.

"Thanks; those words of yours matter a lot to me." Rito grinned as he considered how he had merely stolen that novel from another person and given it little credit. Since he could only remember that plot, he used his excellent English to record it for his benefit.

'But that is also one of my benefits as a reincarnator in this world.' Rito continued to eat dinner as the night grew darker and the Mikan room echoed with activity into the late hours of the night. Rito had a slight inclination to his lips as he did so.